Variable gearing.



No. 874,657. PATENTED DEC. 24, 1907.

I P. BURGER.

VARIABLE GEARING.

APPLICATION FILED A PR.17,1907.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

' awvewto'c r K F atl o'nnup UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANZ BURGER, OF FORT WAYNE, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR OF THREE-FOURTHS TO HENRYM.

. WILLIAMS, OF FORT WAYNE, INDIANA.

VARIABLE GEARING.

Specification of Letters, Patent.

Patented Dec'. 24, 1907.

Application filed April 1% 1907- Serial 1368;722-

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANZ BURGER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Fort Wayne, Allen county, State of Indiana, have inventedcertain new and useful Im rovements in Variable Gearing, of which te'following is a specification.

This invention relates to variable gearing in which one wheel is held infrictional contact with another and adapted to move radially of thelatter to effect a change of speed, and in some cases, a reversal ofrotation, and has for an object to provide a gearing of this charactercombining both a frictional and a positive drive, and one in which thespeed of the driven member may be varied, the operative connectioninterrupted or the direction of rotation of the driven member reversed,by a simple manipulation of the gears and in some cases certainassociated parts. 4 i

In the ap lication of the invention to a motor vehic e a preferredmodification is shown in which one of the above mentioned gear wheels isduplicated and certain clutch mechanism is introduced to lock said du1icate gear wheels one at a time, to the vehicle tion taken with thedrawings which form a part hereof and in'which Figure 1, is a plan viewshowing the invention as applied to a motor vehicle, Fig. 2, is

an enlarged side elevation and part section on the line 2 -2 of Fig, 1,the vehicle wheel being omitted, and Fig. 3, islan enlarged view of thegear wheels and one'ofthe clutch members.

The gearing pro'percom rises the wheel or pinion 1 splined on a sha t 2and the transversely mounted wheel-or disk 3 adapted to be held infrictional contact with the p'eriphe% of said pinion, and across the aceof w 'ch said pinion is adapted to be shifted for the purpose of varyingthe relative speed of the wheels. Generally speaking, this method ofvarying the speed in frictional gearing is well known, but the peculiarconstruction of the gear wheels herein shown is new and producesiagearing which may be used as a friction drive only or as a positivedrive between the members, and at the same time permit of easy andractical varying of s eed.

The wheel or disk 3 is provide on its face with a plurality of annularrings or rows of projections 4, the rows being disposed concentricallythereon and at approximately equal distances apart, and the 1projectionsbeing equally spaced in all of t e rows to obtain a uniform pitch. Thepeculiar construction and arrangement of these projections 4 forms oneof the essential features of this invention. The concentric dispositionof the rows forms between each two an annular channel 5 of a width equalto or slightly greater than the thickness of the pins or teeth on thepinion 1, hereinafter described,

and these channels communicate with the adjacent spaces 6 between theprojections. These spaces preferably have convexed side walls .formed byrounding off the sides of the projections, for the purpose offacilitating the meshing of the pins or teeth therewith as the parts areshifted, as hereinafter more fully set forth. The outer ends of theprojections 4 are formed with friction surfaces 7, preferably fiat andin a uniform plane, and the projections being considera 1y larger thanthe spaces between them, there is thus provided a very a "reciable areaof friction surface on the disii with which the friction pinion 1 e06erates.

The whee or friction pinion l, which, as above intimated, is adapted toslide across the face of the disk 3 to effect a'variation of speed, tostop the driven member or to reverse the motion thereof, is providedwith a peripheral friction surface 8 which is adapted to 006 erate withthe friction surfaces 7 on the isk. This friction surface 8 isof a widthgreater than that of the channels 5 of the disk for the ur ose ofstraddling said channels when s iftm the pinion from one row to another.T us in the operation of changing speed, the forward edge of the surface8 will frietionally engage thesurface 7 of the row of projections towhich the pinion is to be shifted before the rear edge of said 'surface-8 passes from engagement with the surfaces 7 of the row of projectionswhich the pinion is leaving, and

a constant frictional contact will at all times be maintained.

R adially projecting from the wheel or pinion l are spaced pins or teeth9, which are of a size and shape and properly arranged to enter thespaces 6 and the channels 5 of the disk 3, without interfering with thefrictional engagement of the surfaces 7 and 8.

In the arrangement of these teeth shown in the drawings itwill be seenthat a compara-.

I recesses 12 in the periphery of the pinion 1,

"and be secured therein by transverse keys 13, as clearly shown in Fig.3.

It will be noted that there is a constant frictional engagement of thewheels at all times and this engagement of itself is sufficient toeffect an o erative driving relation of the mechanism, t e teeth actingmerely to prevent slipping when the parts are in certain relativepositions. For instance, with the pinion positioned over one of thechannels, the teeth will work in said channel and the gears will operateby friction alone, whereas, with the pinion over one of the rows ofprojections, the teeth will mesh between said projections and inaddition to the frictional drive obtained .there will also be a positivedriving relation between the wheels.

It will be further noted that the pinion may be shifted from engagementwith one row of projections to another practically at any period in therevolution of the wheels and without disengaging the gears or otherwiseinterfering with the operation of the mechanism. During such movement,as the teeth of the pinion pass out of mesh with the relative s eed willvary vehicle.

spaces between one row of projections and into the adjoining channel,the enga ement of the periphery ofthe pinion with the friction surfacesof the projections is still maintained to a more or less degree untiland after the said teeth enter the spaces between the next row ofprojections, and thereby any backlash or jumping is avoided.

It will be understood that the-wheels may be so mounted as that thepinion 1 may be shifted to the center of the disk 3 in which position nomotion would be transmitted, and it may be further moved to the oppo iteside of the disk to effect a reversal of rotationof the driven member,and of course the as the pinion is moved ra ially of the disk.

It Will be seen that this-form of gearing may have many applicationssuch as ,to motor vehicles, motor boats, machinery of various classes,etc, and in Fi 1 it is shown with slight modification as app ied to amotor In this application of the invention the inion shaft 2 may be themotor driving sha with its end mounted in the tee piece 14 through whichthe axle 15 passes transversely; In this instance there .are two disks3, 3 with oppositely disposed friction pressing them towards each otherinto frictional contact with the inion 1. This means may comprise ahollow sleeve '16 keyed to the axle. 15 and inclosing a spiral spring 17which presses against a collar 18 surrounding the axle. This collar enages tlhrpu'gh suitable thrust bearings 19 wit the c is 3, 3 abutsagainst a similar collar 18 and bearings 19, the thrust of the springtends to press both disks firmly in contact with the periphery of thepinion, thus securing a uniform and constant frictional contact. Thetension of the spring 17 may be adjusted by suitable means such as nuts20. It is obvious that instead of having a single spring for pressingboth disks together, the s and cooperating parts shown may be uplicatedon the other side of disk 3 and each act independently of the other. Itwill 3 or 3 and as the other of said disks' be understood from the abovedescri tion splined on the axle 15 andadapted to move longitudinallythereon for the purpose of clutching said disks, one at a time, to theaxle.

Obviously independent levers may be used to move the clutch members, butit is preferred to connect the clutch operating levers 23, 23' by a link24, whereupon the operation of the lever 23 by the arm 25 willsimultaneously throw clutch member 22 into engagement with disk 3 andclutch member 22 out of engagement with the disk 3}, or vice versa, asthe case may be. Obviously, also, the clutch members may be neutrallypositioned and no motion will be transmitted to the axle through thegears. the-invention there is no necessity for the pinion 1 slidingentirely across the faces of the disks since the reverse is obtained bythe clutc mechanism, but it is to be understood that variation of speedmay be accomplished by moving the pinion radially of the disks, duringwhich movement the teeth of the pinion slide across the channels 5 andinto the spaces 6 in the opposing faces of the disks 3, This movement ofthe inion may be accomplished by means of a ever 26 opera- In this,embodiment of tively connected through a link 27 with the hub of saidpinion.

Various modifications may be resorted to without departing from the sirit of the invention and the scope thereo is not limited to the detailsof construction shown.

I claim,. 1. The combination with a wheel having a lurality ofconcentrically arranged rings of fiiction surfaces thereon and channelsbetween said rings, of a pinion having a friction surface to engagesaidfriction surfaces. 2. The combination with a wheel having a luralityof concentrically arranged rings of fliction surfaces thereon andchannels between said rings, of a pinion having a friction surface widerthan said channels to engage friction surfaces thereon and having a con,centric channel between sald rings, of a pm-.

ion adapted to' shift across the face ofsaid 3 heel and having afriction surface to engage f hefriction surfaces of said rings, thesurface of said pinion being wider than said channel whereby the formerwill. straddle the latter as the pinion is shifted from one ring to another.

6. The combination with-a wheel having a plurality'of concentric rows ofs aced friction surfaces thereon and channe s between said rows, of apinion having a friction surface to engage said friction surfaces andhaving teeth to mesh between the friction surfariesof said wheel and toentersaid channe s. f

l 7. The. combination with a rotatable wheel having a plurality ofconcentric rows of spaced friction surfaces thereon and havingconcentric channels between said rows,: said channels communicating withthe adjacent spaces between said surfaces, of another rotatable wheelmounted to shift across the face of said first wheel and having afriction surface to engage said rows of friction surfaces and havingteeth adapted to enter said spaces and channels. 8. The combination of arotatable disk having a plurality of concentric rows of s aced proections thereon, and concentric channels between said rows, the ends ofsaid rojections forming friction surfaces in a uniorm plane, a pinionmounted to rotate at an angle to the direction'of rotation of-said disk,the periphery of said pinion forming a friction su ace to engage thefriction surfaces of said projections, and spaced'teeth mounted on theperiphery of said pinion to mesh between said projections.

9. The combination of a rotatable disk having a plurality of concentricrows of spaced projections thereon and concentric channel-s between saidrows, the ends of said projections forming friction surfaces in a uniormplane, a pinionmounted to rotate atan angle to the direction of rotationof said disk and to shift across the face of the latter, the

eriphery of said inion forming a friction surface to engage the frictionsurfaces of said projections, and spaced teeth mounted on the peripheryof said pinion to mesh between said projections and enter said channelsas the pinion is shifted.

10. The combination with a wheel having a'plurality of concentricallyarranged rows of Y spaced projections, the ends of said rojectionsforming friction surfaces, and iaving concentric channels between saidrows communicating with the adjacent s aces between said projections, ofa pinion a apted to shift across the face of said wheel and having afriction surface to engage said friction surfaces and teeth to meshbetween said projections and to enter said channels as the pinion isshifted.

11. The combination with a wheel having a plurality of annular fows ofspaced projections concentrically arranged to form channels between therows, said channels communicating with the adjacent spaces between said'rojections and the ends of said projections orming friction surfaces ofconsiderablygreater area than that of the surface removed to form thespaces between them, of a pinion mounted to shift across the face of thesaid disk and having a' friction surface to engage said frictionsurf-aces, and teeth on said inion adapted to-mesh with said spaces andto enter said channelsas the pinion is shifted, said friction surfacebeing correspondingly-of greater area relative to that occupied by saidteeth.

12. The combination of a wheel havinga plurality of annular rows ofspaced projec- 'tions concentrically arranged to form channelsbetweenthe rows, said channels commumcating with the adjacent spaces betweensaid projections, and the ends of said projections forming frictionsurfaces, of a pinion mounted to shift across the face of said wheel andhaving a friction surface wider than said channels to engage thefriction surfacesof said projections and to straddle a channel when thepinion is shifted from one row to another, and spaced teeth mounted onthe periphery of said pinion to mesh in said spaces and to enter saidchannels'as the pimon is shifted. a

channels between said rings narrowerthan' said peripheral frictionsurface, and. means for holding the respective friction surfaces inoperative contact.

15. The combination with a driving shaft and a pinion splined thereonhaving a peripheral friction surface and spaced radial teeth dis osedthereon, of a transverse driven shaft, a disk thereon having a pluralityof concentrically arranged rings of spaced friction surfaces andchannels between said rings, said teeth being adapted to enter saidchannel and the spaces between said friction surfaces, means for holdingthe respective friction 'surfaces in operative contact, and means forshifting said pinion radially of said disk.

16. Thecombination with a driving shaft and a pinion thereon having aperipheral friction surface and spaced radial teeth, of a transversedriven shaft, 2. disk thereon having a lurality of concentricallyarranged rings 0 spaced friction surfaces and channels between saidrings, the teeth of the pinion being adapted to enter the spaces andchannels, and means for holding the respective friction surfaces in oerativecontact.

17. The combination with the axle of a motor vehicle, of duplicate disksloose there on and having opposing friction faces, a longitudinallarranged" driving shaft, a friction inion s ined thereon engaging withthe riction aces of both said disks, means for moving said pinion onsaid shaft radially of at a time to said axle.

18. The combination with the-axle of a motor vehicle, of duplicate disksloose thereon andhaving opposing friction faces, a lon-' gitudinallyarranged driving shaft, a friction pinion splined thereon and arrangedbetween and engagin the friction faces of both said disks, a fixe collaron said axle to hold one of said disks against outward longitudinalmovement thereon, spring means engaging the other of said disks forpressing the latter toward said collar and thereby holding both saiddisks constantly in frictional contact with said pinion, and means forlocking said disks, one at a time, to said axle.

19. The combination with the axle of a motor vehicle, of duplicate disksloose thereon and having opposing friction faces, a longitudinallarranged driving shaft, a friction pinion splined thereon and arrangedbetween and engaging the friction faces of both said disks, a fixedcollar on said axle to hold one of said disks against outwardlongitudinal I movement thereon, a sliding collar on said axle engagingthe other of said disks, a sprin adapted to ress said slidingvcollartowar said fixed co lar and thereby hold both said disks constantly infrictional contact with said pinion, a hollow sleeve on said axle in-.closing said spring and holding the latter against outward movement,nuts for adjusting said collar and thereby the tension of said spring,and means for locking said disks, one at a time, to said axle.

20. The combination with the rear axle of a motor vehicle, of a frictiondisk thereon, a longitudinal driving shaft, a friction pinion arrangedto engage said disk, and means for pressing said disk toward said pinioncomprising a collar on said axle engaging said disk, a spring a ainstthe collar, a hollow sleeve on said axle inclosing said spring, andmeans for adjustably holding said sleeve against the tension of thespring. In testimony whereof I affix my signature 1 in presence of twoWitnesses. said disks to effect a change of speed, and coacting clutchesfor locking one of said disks FRANZ BURGER. Witnesses WM. E. Ecxnirr,Gno. D. CRANE.

